Proud Hurn preaches consistency

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A desperate desire to impact the contest and willingness to put one’s body on the line helped West Coast topple Geelong in a hard-fought Thursday night blockbuster, according to Shannon Hurn.

The Eagles captain said he was proud of the way his teammates got physical in the clinches against one of the league’s most contested teams.

West Coast, who entered the match ranked 15th in contested possessions and 13th in average tackles per game, outmuscled the Cats in the middle of the ground, winning the aforementioned statistical battlegrounds 155-153 and 93-74 respectively.

“The thing we’ve been trying to achieve all year is that type of footy,” Hurn said.

“Basically, everyone played their role. I think just the intensity and the tackling pressure was pretty good and that’s what you have to do in today’s footy. That’s what it’s about and we just need to keep doing that going forward.”

Hurn said the club’s recent losses to Essendon, Greater Western Sydney and Gold Coast prompted the squad to reflect on their individual performances throughout the first 11 rounds of the year.

It also made them question what they wanted to achieve in season 2017.

“We’ve spoken about it a fair bit, that the main thing you need to be able to do in footy is have an impact,” Hurn said.

“Sometimes you can get in there and blokes just float through and think others are going to do it, but really you have to do your bit for the team.”

Now West Coast’s challenge is to maintain the intensity it brought against Geelong for the remainder of the season.

Hurn said that all started on the training track this coming Monday.

“The main thing with that is your attitude, effort and desire to want to do that,” he said.

“Footy is a tough game and each week you need to be up and about. I think it can be sustained and, as I’ve spoken about previously, it’s about how you train and how you want to view the game.”